Vulnerable
by starbin21
Summary: Misinterpretations lead to confrontations, which in turn lead to confessions... Long overdue request from LeeJay83.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters or the song in the story below.

**Author's Note:** I know I'm supposed to be working on the first chapter of "Little Wonders," but I was listening to my iPod, and I saw the title of this song. LeeJay83 had requested a specific one shot a while ago that I believe this song goes along with perfectly. I hope I did it justice, Lee! Merry Christmas/Happy New Year/Thank You. :)

**Vulnerable**

A sophomore chipette walked down the crowded hallway of the high school, used to the tall lockers and could smell the familiarity of freshly printed paper and newly sharpened pencils. She herself was carrying her honors biology and advanced algebra books close to her chest, with her purple shoulder bag carrying everything else. It contained all of her folders, binders, extra paper, pens, pencils, white-out…She did always believe in being prepared.

However, nothing could have prepared the teenage chipette for the events that would unfold that day.

"Hey Simon," she said sullenly to the young chipmunk, who was waiting for her outside their second period biology class.

"Good morning, Jeanette. Are you alright?" Simon replied, worried by her tone.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Jeanette nearly snapped in a tone that Simon would never think he'd hear from her.

"Woah, Jeanette, I'm sorry. I was only concerned," Simon said as calmly as he could, still surprised at her outburst. He placed a paw lightly on her shoulder, stopping her dead in her tracks.

As she blushed at his touch, Jeanette thought feebly, _He's only being a good friend. It's not because he _likes _me or anything. He would _never _like someone like me._

And with that final thought, she shrugged off his paw and walked past him into their biology class. A dumbfounded Simon followed her, not able to find the right words to say. He genuinely cared about her, but did not want to upset her further. So in silence they sat in their assigned seats across the room from each other.

Jeanette watched as some girl with gorgeous blonde hair flirted with Simon across the room. She took a seat next her lab partner Tim as class began, unable to keep her eyes off the Jenny, the girl who was flirting with Simon. But it almost looked like he was flirting back. He made no attempt to move away, no gesture to say _"Stop talking to me,"_…nothing. The chipette slid even further down her chair, fuming at herself. _Why can't _I _catch Simon's attention like that! I have a flat chest, stupid glasses, dull hair…_on and on she droned to herself, basically reiterating all that Brittany had told her the night before when Jeanette had simply asked her to stop being so rude to Eleanor. That one comment had sparked an all-out war, in which Brittany pointed out every little imperfection of Jeanette's, as if she didn't already know them, eventually wearing her self-esteem down so low that she had simply walked away, allowing her older sister to claim victory.

On the other hand, Simon was trying to do exactly what Jeanette had thought he _wasn't _doing. The annoying cheerleader was snapping her gum obnoxiously, chatting about prom coming up and her dress and who she was going to ask. Before he knew it, the cheerleader was asking _him_ to be her date.

"I'm flattered, but I have to say no," Simon said nonchalantly as he jotted down a few notes on the new biochemistry that they were learning.

"What? How could you be saying _no_?" The cheerleader exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Jennifer?" Their teacher Mrs. Brennan asked.

"No Mrs. B…" the cheerleader sighed.

As Mrs. Brennan turned back to the chalkboard, Simon spoke quietly.

"I have someone else in mind," he said simply.

"Don't tell me it's that Jeanette girl," Jenny asked snidely as she snapped her gum again.

All Simon did was smile as he continued copying notes, ignoring the questions she fired at him when he didn't respond.

However, Jeanette had had enough. She watched as Simon kept smiling at _everything_ Jenny was saying. _That's it_, she decided. _I've had enough. I'm done trying to catch his attention in that way, because it's clear _she _has it. Maybe I'll try again when my hair turns blonde and my IQ drops, _Jeanette thought acidly.

The chipette turned her attention back to her notes, trying her best to ignore the image of Simon and Jenny. Her anger eased as she came to a realization…if Simon was happy, then she would have to accept that. No matter how much it hurt.

After class ended, Jeanette packed up her things and walked out the door. She still hurt too much to face her sisters at lunch, because she knew that they would pick up on her mood. She decided to have lunch in one of her favorite teachers' room, because she knew he wouldn't ask any questions.

Simon walked out of biology, trying to find Jeanette. It was difficult to concentrate with the cheerleader's constant buzzing in his ear; like a mosquito that wouldn't go away.

"Look, Jenny," Simon said, interrupting the girl's monologue, "let me make this clear. I am not one to be rude, but you happen to be wearing my patience thin. There are plenty of other boys who would love to take you to the prom, so why don't you go ask them?"

Before Jenny could get yet another word in, Simon was gone.

The chipmunk had finally spotted a purple ribbon disappearing around the music hall corner and took off after her the moment he was finished talking to Jenny. He walked as fast as he could to catch up with her all the way down the hall.

* * *

"Hello Mr. Dunsworth," Jeanette said as she walked into her old music class, luckily void of students.

"Oh Jeanette, I'm so sorry – I have a meeting with the principal in five minutes. You're welcome to stay if you'd like; the radio is on top of the piano if you'd like some company," Mr. Dunsworth said hurriedly in his thick British accent as he quickly gathered a few folders jammed full of papers and tucked them under his arm.

"Thanks Mr. Dunsworth," Jeanette spoke quietly, actually glad for some alone time. Mr. Dunsworth gave her a quick smile and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Jeanette heaved a sigh after he was out of sight, and heaved her shoulder bag onto the nearest desk. She pulled out her bag lunch and placed it on another desk before she headed over to the radio; an old prehistoric stereo-type. She turned the dial up, and it happened to be on a favorite song of hers. Jeanette walked back over and sat on top of the desk, swinging her legs as she took a bite of her peanut butter sandwich.

"_Share with me the blankets that you're wrapped in__  
__Because it's cold outside (cold outside)_

_It's cold outside_

_Share with me the secrets that you kept in__  
__Because it's cold inside (cold inside)_

_It's cold inside…"_

The tears came a lot faster than Jeanette had thought they would. Her mouth became dry as she chewed and sobbed at the same time. She shoved the rest of her sandwich away after she swallowed, unable to eat the rest. It was happening again. She was crying because of Simon. All those times Jeanette had cried it was because she thought he didn't like her, and now she was crying because she _knew_ Simon didn't like her.

_This is it, _she thought. _After this, I won't shed another tear for Simon Seville. No more. _

"No more…" she whispered to herself as she hugged her shoulders, tightly squeezing her eyes shut as the tears began to flow.

"_And your slowly shaking finger tips show__  
__That you're scared like me so__  
__Let's pretend we're alone__  
__And I know you may be scared__  
__And I know we're unprepared__  
__But I don't care…"_

The door creaked open, and she felt warm arms around her a moment later. Jeanette let him hold her. She didn't care. She didn't care what he might have been thinking. She just wanted the pain to go away.

"_Tell me, tell me__  
__What makes you think that you are invincible?__  
__I can see it in your eyes that you're so sure__  
__Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's vulnerable__  
__Impossible…"_

"Jeanette…please, what is going on? You know you can tell me anything," Simon asked, completely at a loss. He had never in his life seen Jeanette so…so…vulnerable.

"You…I…this is so hard. I don't want to make you feel bad, because I know I don't, and she…she's gorgeous, and you deserve whatever makes you happy…" Jeanette blubbered incoherently, lifting her head off his chest.

"Jeanette, you don't what? You're not making any sense," Simon said, wiping a tear from Jeanette's cheek.

"I…" Jeanette gulped. _Just spit it out. It's not like it matters anyways. _

"I…I've always loved you…but I don't…don't deserve you," she hiccupped. "And Jenny is everything I'm not- gorgeous, popular, talented…and you deserve the best there is."

Simon sat in shock, the gears turning in his head as he realized how differently Jeanette had interpreted the signals between Jenny and himself, trying to get his mouth to work to tell Jeanette that she had it all wrong, and that he loved her too.

"_I was born to tell you I love you__  
__Isn't that a song already?__  
__I get a B in originality__  
__And it's true I can't go on without you__  
__Your smile makes me see clearer__  
__If you could only see in the mirror what I see…"_

Jeanette looked up at Simon. Seeing no visible response, she got up to leave the room, telling herself that she would come back for her things later.

"I told myself that today would be the last time I cried over you, Simon, and I'm going to keep that promise to myself," she said a small voice as she turned around to leave the room. This seemed to break Simon out of his shock.

"Jeanette, wait! I don't like _Jenny_! I was trying to get her _away _from me. She asked me to be her prom date and I said no because I wanted to ask someone else; I wanted to ask _you_!" Simon rushed as he stood from the desk he had been sitting at, trying to get it all out before she walked away, realizing that if maybe he had asked her sooner, _none _of this would have happened. He thought Jeanette knew he cared for her, but perhaps he hadn't tried hard enough to show her.

"_Slow down girl; you're not going anywhere__  
__Just wait around and see__  
__Maybe I'm much more; you never know what lies ahead__  
__I promise I can be anyone, I can be anything__  
__Just because you were hurt doesn't mean you shouldn't bleed__  
__I can be anyone, anything, I promise I can be what you need…"_

Jeanette's back was still facing him as she said sadly over her shoulder, still hugging herself, "Save it, Simon. I know you're only trying to make me feel better, because that's the kind of person you are."

Right as she was about to leave the doorway, Simon made a split-second decision. He ran up to Jeanette, took her paw in his, and pulled her towards him. Jeanette spun around in surprise, and Simon's lips crashed down on hers in an aggressive passion as he held her face in his paws. Jeanette's heart fluttered like a hummingbird's wings, and Simon thought his own would pound right out of his chest.

He broke the kiss and moved his paws from her face to her waist; and speaking gently, he said, "Jeanette, I have _always _loved you. I want you, and _only _you. No other girl has ever been able to make me feel like you do. No other girl is right for me. Being with you is as easy as breathing…why would I ever want to throw something like that away?"

Jeanette rested her paws on his chest, since they had been in midair in surprise, and thought for what seemed to be a long time. She nearly cried with happiness, but remembered her promise to herself; so she decided to take a different approach.

"Simon?" Jeanette asked softly, blushing as she looked down a little.

"Yes?" He responded, wishing he could know what was going through her mind.

Then Jeanette flicked him hard, right on his forehead.

"Ow, Jeanette! What was _that _for?" Simon demanded as he rubbed his forehead.

With a little more confidence, Jeanette suppressed a giggle, then poked him in the chest and said, "Next time, _ask _me before you kiss me."

Simon smirked, then cleared his throat. "Heh, alright then…may I kiss you, Jeanette?"

Jeanette returned his smirk, trying to think of something witty to say, but her thoughts were completely swept away when she saw the soft smile his smirk had turned into, making her stutter. She finally managed to breathe a simple, "Yes."

Simon lifted Jeanette's chin until their lips met, and neither chipmunk nor chipette heard the radio that was still playing as they escaped to a world all their own.

"_Tell me, tell me__  
__What makes you think that you are invincible?__  
__I can see it in your eyes that you're so sure__  
__Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's vulnerable__  
__**Impossible**__."_


End file.
